Global Times: Xi says ready to work with Trump to build solid foundation for bilateral ties

BEIJING, Oct. 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Chinese President Xi Jinping met on Thursday with US President Donald Trump to exchange views on bilateral relations and issues of mutual interest in Busan, South Korea, the Xinhua News Agency reported. 

President Xi said he is ready to continue working with President Trump to build a solid foundation for bilateral ties, and create a sound atmosphere for the development of both countries, Xinhua reported.

In the meeting with Trump, Xi said under their joint guidance, China-US relations have remained stable on the whole. "China and the US should be partners and friends. That is what history has taught us and what reality needs," he said.

Given different national conditions, the two sides do not always see eye to eye with each other, and it is normal for the two leading economies of the world to have frictions now and then, Xi added.

"You and I are at the helm of China-US relations," said Xi. "In the face of winds, waves and challenges, we should stay the right course, navigate through the complex landscape, and ensure the steady sailing forward of the giant ship of China-US relations."

"The world today is confronted with many tough problems. China and the US can jointly shoulder our responsibility as major countries, and work together to accomplish more great and concrete things for the good of our two countries and the whole world," Xi said.

China will host APEC 2026, and the US the G20 summit next year, Xi noted. The two sides can support each other in making both summits productive to promote world economic growth and improve global economic governance, he added.

According to Xinhua, the two presidents have agreed to enhance cooperation in economic, trade, energy and other fields and to encourage more people-to-people exchanges.

They have also agreed to maintain interactions on a regular basis. Trump looked forward to visiting China early next year, and invited President Xi to visit the US, according to Xinhua.

Diao Daming, a professor at the School of International Studies, Renmin University of China, said the leaders' meeting plays an irreplaceable strategic role in stabilizing and fostering the sustained development of bilateral relations, laying a constructive foundation for future stability of relations.

'A great leader of a great country'

The meeting between the Chinese and US presidents in Busan drew wide attention worldwide.

"It's a great honor to be with a friend of mine, really, for a long time now," Trump said as he sat across a table from President Xi, CNN reported. Trump praised President Xi as "distinguished and respected" and a "great leader of a great country," CNN reported.

Dylan Loh from Singapore's Nanyang Technological University was quoted by the AFP as saying that the meeting was "significant" because it tackled a range of both longstanding and newly emerged roadblocks in the trade relationship.

Diao noted that Trump's high praise for President Xi reflects his deep respect for China's leader, his acknowledgment of China's remarkable achievements, and his recognition of China's global stature, underscoring the importance of bilateral relations.

'Dialogue better than confrontation'

During the meeting with Trump, Xi said that there is a good momentum in China's economic development, adding that in the first three quarters of this year, China's economy increased by 5.2 percent, and import and export trade in goods with the rest of the world expanded by 4 percent. This is not an easy accomplishment given the domestic and external difficulties, Xi noted, adding that the Chinese economy is like a vast ocean, big, resilient and promising, Xinhua reported.

"Over the past seven decades and more, we have been working from generation to generation on the same blueprint to make it a reality. We have no intention to challenge or supplant anyone. Our focus has always been on managing China's own affairs well, improving ourselves, and sharing development opportunities with all countries across the world," he added.

Xi noted that the two countries' economic and trade teams had an in-depth exchange of views on important economic and trade issues, and reached consensus on solving various issues.

He called on the two teams to work out and finalize the follow-up steps as soon as possible, and ensure that the common understandings are effectively upheld and implemented, to inject confidence into the two countries as well as the global economy through solid deliverables.

Later on Thursday, China's Ministry of Commerce unveiled the outcomes achieved by Chinese and US delegations during their recent economic and trade talks in Kuala Lumpur.

US side will cancel the 10-percent so-called "fentanyl tariffs" and suspend, for an additional year, the 24-percent reciprocal tariffs levied on Chinese goods, including goods from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region.

China will make corresponding adjustments to its countermeasures against the aforementioned US tariffs, the spokesperson said, noting that both sides have agreed to continue extending certain tariff exclusion measure, Xinhua reported.

Diao said both China and the US have made adjustments to some policies, which are beneficial for both countries and the world, Diao said.

SOURCE Global Times